Dental notation: FDI vs Universal

Rebrief supports the two common ways of numbering teeth. Pick the one you and your team already say out loud.

FDI and Universal

• FDI (International) gives each tooth two digits, from 11 to 48. The first digit is the quadrant, 1 to 4. The second is the tooth's place in that quadrant, 1 to 8. So tooth 16 is quadrant 1, place 6.
• Universal (US) gives each tooth one number, from 1 to 32, counting around both arches.

Both describe the same 32 adult teeth. They just label them differently.

Baby teeth have their own labels: 51 to 85 in FDI, and the letters A to T in Universal.

Choosing your numbering

You first pick it when you set up your account. To change it later:

1. Open Settings and choose Charting, under Notes.
2. Under Tooth numbering, choose FDI (International) or Universal (US).
3. Press Save changes.

Your choice belongs to your account. Your colleagues keep their own.

What a change affects

A change applies to appointments made after it. Each appointment keeps the numbering it was made with, on its chart and in its note. Appointments you already have don't change.

Saying tooth numbers

Say tooth numbers in the system the appointment uses. Rebrief charts them in that system.

In the note, Rebrief writes each tooth number as you said it. It never converts a number from one system to the other.

Rebrief writes a baby tooth number only when you say the tooth is a baby tooth, or when the patient is a child.

Tip: Match this to what your practice already says out loud. Charting feels most natural when the numbers on screen are the numbers you're used to hearing.